Blackout Effectors Crystal Dagger Pedal Review

Even though octave fuzzes
have been around for
almost half a century now,
they still have the capacity to
sound startling. When used
with great control and skill,
they can catapult notes as high
as the heavens. They can also
produce some downright weird
tones that, depending on your
outlook, can sound beautiful
or hideous. Blackout Effectors
tends to see the beauty in these
odd tones. But they also know
how to make an octave sound
fluid and soaring. The Crystal
Dagger covers both worlds—moving from musical to dastardly—and then adds another
black sheep to the mix, ring
modulation. The end result is
a beautifully demented and, at
times, very atonal monster.

Crystal Visions
The octave fuzz and ring modulator
in the Crystal Dagger
work from their own dedicated
analog circuit boards and each
has separate controls. What’s
cool is that they can be engaged
separately and blended from a
dedicated control. The fuzz side
is controlled with filter and volume
knobs and a handy toggle
switch that activates the brash
octave-up effect. Tones from the
more chaotic ring modulator
side are governed by carrier-frequency
tuning and volume
knobs, which help induce phasing
sweeps and pulsating effects.

The guts of the Crystal
Dagger are both functional and
a work of art, with expertly
routed wiring from the analog-based
circuit boards to the
switches, jacks, and pots. Each
circuit board is marked with
unique etchings that match the
function of the corresponding
effect—multi-sided crystalline
shapes for the ring modulator
board, and sharp, dagger-like
etchings for the fuzzy and razor-sharp
octave fuzz circuit. Even
the back panel features a handpainted
depiction of a robot
built from crystals. It obviously
isn’t something that affects the
tone, but it’s a nice, personalized
touch that reveals how much
Blackout relishes creative details.

Here Comes
Dolly Dagger
A single note created with the
Crystal Dagger, a Stratocaster,
and Twin Reverb will tell you that
the Crystal Dagger’s octave fuzz
tone is capable of unique things.
While most popular octave-fuzz
pedals tend toward thick and
syrupy, the Crystal Dagger is very
clean and tight, with smooth lows
and mids, and a not-too-piercing
high end. Output is
detailed across the entire tone
spectrum, which make Hendrix-style
leads above the 12th fret
sound especially fat. You can
emphasize specific frequency
bands with the filter function.
But it’s also astonishing to hear
how easy it is to shape tones with
simple picking dynamics too—remarkable given the way some
octave pedals can lend a glitchy,
gated quality to overtones.

When you want to back
off on the gain, your only
course of action is to ride your
guitar’s volume knob, because
the Dagger doesn’t have an
onboard gain knob. The omission
was a well-considered decision
by Blackout, who says that
the intense personality of the
pedal is as they intended. But
as good as the fuzz sounds, it
would still be nice to have that
additional range in different
musical situations.

Things can get really freaky
when you add in the modulation
circuit. Small movements of the
frequency knob will
change the tone significantly,
especially as you
near the point where
phasing and octave'd
ring modulation begin
to blur at around 2 to
3 o’clock. You can tap
into some pretty fantastic
beating pulses
in this frequency range too, along
with phasing that can sound
like it’s ricocheting off the walls.
Pushing the frequency knob to
the max creates a palette of metallic
undertones that color single
notes with a sinister intensity,
though the blend knob enables
you to tailor the intensity from a
fairly clean level to saturated.

The Verdict
To put it bluntly, the Crystal
Dagger is not for the faint of
heart. Its basic roots are in the
Octavia-paved paths forged by
the likes of Jimi and Stevie. That
said, even it’s most bristling tones
have an air of refinement and
thoughtful design. Beyond those
familiar applications, however, it’s
an intensely creative pedal that
can inspire voyages to the outer
reaches. Both circuits sound
great individually, but used
together, the octave fuzz and ring
modulator are nothing short of
shocking. This pedal is sure to
bring a devilish smile to those
who love the bombastic tones of
Steve Albini, Duane Denison,
and Paul Leary as much as they
relish Axis: Bold as Love. And
it should be on the short list of
players who crave tearing down
established tone rules in order to
sculpt their own.

A native of the Pacific Northwest, Jordan grew up traveling the country as the son of theater technical directors and speech instructors. His exposure to the performing arts early on helped foster his love for music and attention to detail, and upon receiving his first guitar at age 15, he became hooked. Jordan brings a considerable background of gear knowledge and tech experience to Premier Guitar, and has contributed an extensive amount of articles, artist interviews and Rig Rundown videos since late 2008. He lives in the Iowa City area, where he also works to bring music education initiatives to both local and regional communities.

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